Kisoro Town

Kisoro town is situated in the south western part of Uganda located in the hilliest part of country with 729. 7 kilometers squared and an estimated population of 266,222 people according to 2009, the nearest town to Kisoro is Kabale town. Kisoro town is 550 kilometres from Kampala which takes about 10-12 hours drive by road, tourists can also fly to Kisoro airstrip from Entebbe international airport or Kajjansi airfield within two hours.

Activities in Kisoro town

Visit Lake Mutanda

Lake Mutanda is a scenic lake entangled within Virunga volcanoes and Kisoro hills in western Uganda; you can visit Lake Mutanda and take a local dugout canoe to one of its 15 islands as you have superb views of the Virunga massif volcanoes.

Gorilla trekking

Kisoro town is near Mgahinga national park which is home to mountain gorillas; tourists can fly in to Kisoro airstrip and drive to the park. The town is also near gorilla national parks in Congo and Rwanda.
Gorilla trekking is one of the most sought tourist’s activities in Africa, gorillas are human close relatives sharing 98% DNA with humans the cost of trekking is $600 per person and you are given an hour to spend in the presence of gorillas.

Mountain climbing

Tourists can also engage in volcanic climbing while at Kisoro town, three of the Virunga mountains that are home to mountain gorillas are found in Uganda that is Mount Gahinga at 3,475 meters above sea level, Mount Sabinyo at 3,669 meters above sea level and Mount Muhabura at 4,127 meters above sea level. These volcanoes provide a thrilling mountain climbing experience with panoramic views at the top like Mount Sabinyo that gives views of all the three countries that is Uganda, Rwanda and Democratic republic of Congo.

Cultural encounters

Cultural encounters in Kisoro town can be done at the famous Batwa trail featuring the indigenous Batwa tribe who were the ancient people of the gorilla national parks before they were evicted from the national park, the Batwa guide will give you an insight to how they used to survive in the forest for food, medicine and culture. You can also visit the Bakiga people who live outside the park and do farming.

Golden monkey trekking

Golden monkeys are an endangered species of monkeys with Mgahinga national park having the highest species of about 3000-4000 of them, the monkeys move in troops of 40-100 individuals and are very interesting because of their playful characters and looks. Golden monkey permits are also cheap, they are easy to trek and the number of people trekking is not limited like mountain gorilla trekking.